With all the CISPA debate going on with a vote expected to go down this week, privacy is becoming the hot ticket item again. In a piece I penned earlier today, I argued that people who complain about CISPA’s lack of privacy protections are already giving away all of their personal data via social networking anyway. It’s obviously not true for everybody, but a lot of people are pretty enthusiastic about handing our their personal details especially when there’s some shopping to be done.
A lovely infographic from our friends at Lemon.com details a recent IBM study that found people were all too willing to give up their privacy for a better shopping experience. Now they aren’t giving up all of their personal details, but it’s still the kind of stuff that people generally don’t like giving away.
Among the statistics in the study, it was found that an overwhelming 75 percent of respondents were willing to share data about their media usage. Well, that’s not that bad. There are already plenty of tracking applications that marketers use to track this everyday. It’s the fact that the person is willingly handing it over that’s important.
Another 73 percent are willing to hand over their demographic info. Once again, not that bad considering that marketers already use this data all the time to market to their customers. It’s when 61 percent of the respondents are willing to identify themselves by name and address that the sirens begin to go off. That’s the kind of information that nobody wants to share, but they will if there’s a personalized shopping experience to be had.
In what may be the most damning to privacy proponents, it’s found that 56 percent are willing to share their physical location for these amazing deals. I don’t like the idea of people knowing where I am at the moment, but what if you get a localized deal for the place you’re at right that very moment. Would you agree to it then? A contemporary example is the Nintendo Zone application for the Nintendo 3DS. Depending on the location, it unlocks deals and information about shopping for that current store.
If shoppers are to give away this information, they want something in return. What would that be? They want “communication tailored to their unique interests, locations, and lifestyles; reaching out via channels each consumer prefers (not mass media); compelling reasons to shop now; and personalized sales and offerings.” That all sounds pretty sweet and it only comes at the cost of your personal privacy.
Would you give up your personal details for a better deal at, say, Best Buy or Victoria’s Secret? Or are you one of the true privacy defenders who don’t give marketers any leeway? Let us know in the comments.
